1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for delivering business information and services, and more particularly, to systems for consolidating various business information products and services in a single platform.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional data integration systems typically update and verify data from numerous sources to be sure that business information data is accurate, complete, timely and globally accurate, so that customers can be confident in their critical business decisions.
The data integration systems incorporate processes that include collecting, aggregating, editing, and verifying data from thousands of sources daily so that customers can use the information to make profitable decisions for their businesses. An exemplary data integration system is described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/368,072, filed on Feb. 18, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. Another example of a data integration system and process known as DUNSRight™, provided by the D&B Corporation. The foundation of such data integrations is quality assurance which includes thousands of separate automated checks, plus many manual ones, to ensure the data meets quality standards. In addition, five quality drivers work sequentially to collect and enhance the data, as shown in FIG. 1. Global Data Collection 1 brings together data from a variety of sources worldwide. Data is integrated into a Global Database 6 through Entity Matching 2, which produces a single, more accurate picture of each business. In step 3, a unique corporate identifier, such as a D-U-N-S® Number, is applied as a unique means of identifying and tracking a business globally through every step in the life and activity of the business. A Corporate Linkage step 4 enables customers to view their total risk or opportunity across related businesses. Lastly, Predictive Indicators 5 use statistical analysis to rate a business' past performance and to indicate how likely the business is to perform that same way in the future. Data Integration Information refers to data, including business information data, that has been subjected to at least one or more of the process steps described above.
Companies develop various risk management solutions to help customers increase profitability through effective risk management using business information collected and verified through the data integration process. Such solutions enable customers to improve cash flow by quickly identifying accounts likely to pay slowly or go bankrupt, manage total risk exposure by consolidating accounts receivable worldwide into a single database, boost operating margins by doing more with existing staff resources such as by automated decisioning solutions, establish decisioning that is compliant with all internal audit and external governance regulations, and increase revenue by quickly identifying low risk customers with credit remaining.
As shown in FIG. 2, customers have access to a variety of products and services, including risk management solutions, i.e., solutions, to optimize their use of business information. Customize marketing solutions (CMS) utilizes data integration information via a batch. Users can order various reports via links, such as ordering business information reports and alert services. Users can also access Toolkits, including a risk assessment manager (RAM, eRAM) and a global decision maker (GDM).
There exist current barriers for customers which prevent them from experiencing the full benefits of data integration available through existing solutions.
Such barriers include confusing product messaging, features, and benefits, overlapping capabilities, no logical or physical migration path between different solutions, disparate technology platforms that are difficult to upgrade and maintain, and data inconsistencies across different products. These barriers have limited the recognition and adoption of the highest value solutions and thereby have prevented customers from reaping the full benefits offered by these solutions.
There is a need for a system and method that allows use of various products and/or services on a single technology platform, that uses a subscription pricing model, can create services for specific customer segments, make products easy to understand and use, and allow unlimited, flexible access to real-time data.